L3Harris Selected by U.S. Navy for Counter-Drone Systems

NextNav Inc. announced a strategic partnership with AiRANACULUS to advance integrated sensing and communications across NextNav's licensed lower 900 MHz spectrum. The collaboration combines NextNav's ground-based 5G-powered 3D PNT network with AiRANACULUS's advanced signal processing technology to expand NextNav's drone sensing and long-range early warning capability for counter-unmanned aircraft systems while reducing the infrastructure required for wide-area sensing coverage. The two companies will validate long-range ISAC capabilities using NextNav's 5G PNT Network and AiRANACULUS's hardware and software stack, with initial testing focused on extended-range threat detection to identify and track drone activity within NextNav's 5G PNT Network footprint in Santa Clara County, California. Deepak Joseph, Vice President of Product at NextNav, said safe airspace management is critically enhanced by long-range detection capabilities that provide early warning and scale cost effectively, while AiRANACULUS Founder and CEO Dr. Apurva N. Mody said applying digital beamforming and advanced receiver signal processing to low-band 5G enables detection of smaller targets at much greater distances. NextNav said results from the collaboration will support ongoing assessments of performance and applicability across critical infrastructure and national security use cases.

Ondas announced on Wednesday that it launched Dronebuster REACH, a long-range counter-drone system, with the first unit contracted to the Office of Naval Research. REACH uses electronic attacks to disrupt drones at longer ranges and higher power, extending the company's existing Dronebuster product line, and integrates with Ondas's detection and command-and-control systems for a layered counter-drone setup. Ondas said its Dronebuster systems have been deployed in more than 50 countries, with over 3K units delivered. On the market side, the stock traded near $7.50.

DroneShield secured access to a three-year U.S. government contract vehicle worth up to $500 million, sending its shares up 9% to a one-month high. The Australian counter-drone technology company said it was awarded an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity contract supporting Joint Interagency Task Force 401's Domestic Shield initiative, with a maximum value of $500 million over three years. The company stressed that the $500 million is the maximum value of the contract vehicle rather than an immediate order or revenue award, and that the vehicle provides a streamlined procurement pathway for rapid deployment of counter-unmanned aircraft systems across the United States. The award expands DroneShield's exposure to U.S. government procurement and follows a $24.9 million JIATF-401 contract announced in June, which included an initial $19.3 million award plus options. DroneShield has also been installing its DroneSentry-X Mk2 systems under the earlier JIATF-401 program, with acceptance by the U.S. military announced earlier this month.

President Lai Ching-te, Taiwan's leader, said Taiwan needs to tighten cooperation with democratic countries in developing drone technology, which is crucial to waging modern warfare, amid rising military pressure from China. Speaking today at the groundbreaking ceremony for a new drone development center in Chiayi in southern Taiwan, he said that from the battlefields of Ukraine to security in the Indo-Pacific region, drones have become a key fighting force in modern national defense. He called on Taiwan to work with democratic countries to develop a secure and resilient drone supply chain in order to support peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. His remarks came as the Taiwanese government pushes ahead with military upgrades and higher defense budgets as one of its main policies, after China stepped up military pressure on Taiwan earlier this month. Taiwan's Cabinet proposed adding 145.7 billion Taiwan dollars, about 4.59 billion US dollars, to this year's defense budget. The budget covers the procurement of drones and missile interception systems, including more than 600 surveillance and coastal patrol drones, more than 40,000 coastal attack drones, and more than 100 explosive-laden unmanned boats. Lai said Taiwan has strengths in semiconductors, information and communications technology, and high-precision manufacturing bases that can be leveraged to develop a drone industry.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that Iran is ready for a doomsday war with the United States but is still keeping diplomatic channels open so as not to miss a chance to build peace. Speaking in an interview on NBC News' Meet the Press after last week's United Nations General Assembly, Araghchi said there is no reason for Iran to return to diplomacy, but he is still trying to negotiate because the opportunity to build peace should not be missed, and he affirmed that Iran is as ready to negotiate as it is to face any challenge, even one leading to a doomsday war. On Friday, Araghchi proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming nuclear talks with the United States within seven days if the government of President Donald Trump accepts Iran's conditions, but Trump rejected the proposal, and according to The Wall Street Journal, Trump also said he expects to go back to bombing Tehran again after the US midterm elections in November. Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Waltz said in another NBC News interview that Iran's proposal was a self-serving attempt to put something on the table that it knows is unacceptable. On Sunday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it had seized a US Remus 600 unmanned underwater vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz and declared the strait closed to unauthorized traffic, while Major General Amir Hatami, Iran's top military commander, stressed that the war is not over. The war, which began on February 28, has severely restricted energy shipments from the Middle East, sending oil prices sharply higher and adding to global inflation concerns. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.3% to close at 92.41 dollars a barrel, and Brent crude dropped 2.1% to close at 104.32 dollars. For the week, US crude fell 7.9%, while Brent was roughly flat. Year to date, WTI is up nearly 61% and Brent is up more than 71%.